Feeling Better

A while back I started feeling bad. I had my gallbladder out in April, and that combined with stomach issues and then these odd feelings that I could not explain, made me really worried.

For some reason my doctor could not find anything wrong with me and after having test after test and having what felt like a heart attack- which I later had to figure out on my own was really a panic attack- I was at my wits end.

Panic attacks are real and can not be controlled. I was having funny heart palpatations and feeling really sick, not to mention the chest pains! Stress is a main factor and although I felt like I was not really stressed, I found out you really do not have to be under what you would consider extreme stress to actually have a panic attack.

So after my attack, back in December, I said to heck with the doctor. I am going to 'fix' myself. I started eating a lot better- although I do have the ocassional 'cheat' days- and take charge of my body.

I also started taking B12 vitamins. Wow! I can not say how much better they have made me feel. Because of the blood pressure meds that I am on, I can not take a regular multi vitamin, but a few years ago I had a B12 shot after a bout with bronchitis and remembered how much better I felt afterwards.




These babies have really made me feel more energetic, my moods are better, and I have not had hardly any heart palpatations since. I am not sure if it is attributed to the B12 or not, but I have really taken a big turn for the better!

And let's face it, I have no time to be sick!

Fessin' Up!

I confesss that I have not done much work this week.....at work! I have a great job. I do traffic tickets for the city and I handle all of the payments and entering them into the computer, keeping court dates scheduled, etc. Slow week. No court, not many tickets...so I played on facebook and read blogs. Yay me!

I confess that I am loving the fact that I have each of my daughters doing dishes and laundry every night and it. has. been. wonderful! I told them both, in order to pay for the cell phone and the iPod Touch they got for Christmas, they had to 'work' to 'pay' for them! I had to, so what's good for the goose is, well you know!

I confess that I am so totally love, love, lovin' this song! It's awesome, not only because of the rad guitar and that the lyrics fit me to a 'T' right now, but the bands name is "Sick Puppies"!! When my daughter told me (yes, my 13 year old daughter had to inform me of the name of a band! Damn, I am getting old!) I laughed and laughed. Not funny anymore! I love them!
Check 'em out! You can thank me later:




Have a great weekend!!

Social Studies Project

My 10 year old is working on her Social Studies project. A while back, we watched a few episodes of Little House on The Prairie and from that day on, she was intrigued by Laura Ingalls Wilder. So when it was time to choose a topic for her project, it was not hard to decide what it would be.

I have no talent. When I was in school, I could do the 'book' thing. I could research, read, write and finish a report. That was the extent, and we never were required to do projects. They were strictly voluntary so needless to say, I never did one.

The school that my daughter attends requires social studies projects in 5th and 7th grades, and a science project in 6th and 8th grade. This year she is in 5th, so here we go. I have helped somewhat with the written report and her dad is helping her with what she is going to display.

Now, when you think of Little House on The Prairie, the first thing that comes to mind, of course, is the house where they lived in Walnut Grove. Hence, the outcome of what they created this past weekend. As you watch the video, you will see a wagon. Remember the wagon they rode in, drawn by a horse? The house with real windows and a door that opens and closes. The barn that held the animals, along with a pile of firewood and the food trough for the cow. A gate for the fence surrounding the farm, that really opens and closes and an outhouse!




I wish I had talent!!

FORTY-ONE!

Today is my 41st Birthday! So because of that, I've decided to ask of you to do a couple of things for yourself instead of bombarding me with lavish gifts. Because you all know I have everything I could ever wish for, already. Yeah, right!

If you have not tried this wonderful stuff called Chocovine, then you must run...right this very second, step away from the computer and grab your keys, and drive as fast as you can to the nearest store and pick up a bottle of this stuff. If you have ever in your life wanted to taste something even the slightest bit near heaven, then here is your chance. If you drink wine and you like chocolate (and who doesn't) then this stuff is for you!

After you do that, then head over to my other blog and 'follow' me! I have been really trying to get more into my photography and working on that is taking a lot out of me because as much as I love it, I get in these sort of funks and I need all of the encouragement that I can get. I would very much appreciate it! Not only would it make me happy, but it would do you some good to see what else I can do besides blab it up over here on this blog.

Then once all of that is said and done, you can bake me a birthday cake! I like chocolate, but strawberry would be fine too!

Enable Your Email

Do you ever get a comment from your blog in your email, and it's just so good that you can't wait to hit 'reply' and answer their question or make a comment back about their comment??

It happens to me quite frequently, but sadly, not everyone has their email enabled, allowing anyone to reply. It's hard to go back and answer someone in your own comment section of your blog, when you know darn well, they are not refreshing the page waiting for your comment back to them. Who has time for that??

So Mamarazzi has started a 'revolution' to get everyone to enable their email, allowing the blog owners to reply to your comments. It is real easy to do and it goes something like this:


Go to your "dashboard". Click "edit profile". Click the little box next to "show my email address". Click "SAVE".

Easy, right? So if you don't already have that done, please do so now! And if you are having the same problems on your blog, then visit Mamarazzi

She has all the details on what to do and you can link up and maybe get a sweet prize!!

Brian

I met Brian when I was 18 years old. He was about my age and he had moved here from another city. We had both graduated from high school and he was heading to college soon.

In those days, most teenagers hung out in empty parking lots or the local Sonic and we cruised the strip or rode around until we found others to stop and talk to.

Brian was friends with Darren and we all hung out together pretty often, mostly on the weekends. I did not care for Darren that much because he was rude, obnoxious, and very reckless. He was the type of guy, who even though he had a girlfriend, was always trying to make a move on other girls. Definitely a big turn off to me.

Brian was different. He was so kind and gentle and just an all around fun person to hang out with. There were times when he would come over and sit and talk with me and tell me all about his past and his plans for the future. I have to admit, I had a small crush on him. He reminded me of a teddy bear and I could have loved him one day. Maybe I did.

One night in January, about 6 months after Brian moved here, he stopped in the local parking lot where some friends and I were talking and he picked me up. I left with him and we rode around in his car and talked. Something was not right, and I could not put my finger on it. I asked him what was wrong and he would not tell me. After riding around for a while, he stopped back where my friends were, to drop me off and he said, "I'll see you tomorrow!" And I said, "OK!"

Those were the very last words Brian ever said to me. He died that night in a car crash! After he and some friends left from a bar in a neighboring town a few hours later, an 18-wheeler crossed the center line and hit his small car. Brian was pronounced dead at the scene.

For the very first time in my life, I had lost a friend. My heart was broken. The person who called to tell me the news, made me so mad because there was no way that it could be true and I was so angry. How could someone so sweet and kind, who treated me so sweetly, be gone in an instant? He told me that he would see me tomorrow!!! I was crushed!

Over the years there have been many times that I have thought of my long ago friend. My mom had known his grandmother and his mom and when she met up with them somewhere, they would ask about me. I know that when my mom went to Heaven three years ago, Brian was there to meet her and he told her everything we did as crazy teenagers and she's laughing with him.

Yesterday at work a friend of my co-worker came in to talk to her and I knew who she was. I had never met her or talked to her before, but she was Brian's sister. I told her who I was and that I had known him, that I was with him that night and that it still hurt my heart to talk about him. She said it had been 22 years ago today that he died. We talked about him for a long time and it made me happy to hear stories about him. Stories that were about the Brian that I knew. The Brian that has never left my memories over the years.

It is still so hard to talk about my beloved friend without feeling that lump in my throat, without a tear coming to my eyes or to smile with a memory of something silly that he would say or do. He was a very special person and I am so glad to have known him and have him be a part of my life, even for such a small amount of time.

Maybe in his last words to me, Brian knew that we would see each other again and even though it was not the very next day....

One Sweet Day....we will:

Swap Time

Mamarazzi is hosting another one of her famous swaps. It has been a while since I have participated, so I decided, now is the time. If you have not visited her, go on over and give her a shoutout and let her know I sent you!

TRASH!

This particular post is going to confirm that it does not take much to excite me, I assure you!

The blue object you see before you is a trash can. My trash can. My new trash can. My much needed and highly anticipated trash can that was provided to me, free of charge, by the city!

Why the excitement, you ask? Well the two, falling apart, piece of crap, hole-filled, flimsy and pitiful trash cans I owned previously, were just not cutting it anymore. And spending nearly $20 a piece on something that holds rotten food and stinky used toilet paper is not cool in my book.

Recently, I was awakened at 3:00AM to a noise outside. I got up and looked out of the window to see this dog in the street, pulling all of my trash out of the bags and scattering it in the road, just to get him an early morning snack. Let me assure you, going outside and chasing off a dog and picking up trash from the street is not how I want to spend my time. Especially at that hour!

There have been times when the weather has been less than lovely and the wind and rain carried my pitiful trash receptacles all over the neighborhood. Leaving me to chase them down and drag them back.

Just recently, one of the lesser of the lucky, lost it's wheel. No thanks to the garbage men, themselves. They've been known to be less than delicate with my property.

All of that horror has come to end, though! My new mighty trash can will save the day! No more animal intrusions! No more flying across the street into the neighbors yards, and no more evil trash men to fling it around. Our automated trash trucks begin this week!

OWN

What a week! It's Friday night and I am sitting here in my PJ's and I am about to watch this:

I love Oprah and when she announced her "OWN" network, I was more than thrilled. On New Year's Day, I looked for the channel on my TV and it was not there! I was so disappointed because with all of the hoopla in the last few weeks, especially the emails they sent, that I just wanted to cry.

By chance, a friend mentioned something about it on face book and told me that she had it, I should to. I checked the channel she told me, and lo and behold, there it was.....although 5 or so days late, regardless, I am happy now. Life can continue.

So tell me ....Do you have it? Are you watching it? Will you??

Cell Phone Wars

So the debate I have had about when a child is old enough to have a cellphone has ended. My daughter of 13 years has talked about having one for probably oh, 13 years now. Christmas Eve when she opened her gifts from me she could not believe that she was seeing this:

I caved, and I will tell you why. Honestly, I do not believe she needed a cell phone. She did not go anywhere that she was not with either me or her dad. At home, we have a land line. So that was always my argument. You are not old enough. There is no need for one.

Then it happened. She went to the mall one weekend with a friend and the friend's grandmother. The went shopping and to a movie and I had no way to get in touch with her. Sure, I could have called the grandmother, but to save her from any teenage embarrassment, I did not. I decided it was time to take the plunge and give her what she's always wanted.

When I purchased the 'plan' for it, I got unlimited texting, shared minutes, rollover, and then it came down to data usage. I looked at the girl with slight confusion. 200 mb of data usage for $15 a month, or 2GB of usage for $25. I went with the cheaper of the two. Surely, that would be plenty.

I was wrong. The first week she had her phone, she had used 65 percent of her data usage for the month. So I had to warn her to slow down. We have wireless Internet at home, but when she's at her dad's for the weekend, no downloading, etc. By the second week, she had exceeded her limit! Grrrr! So I went ahead and upgraded her package to the 2GB.

While I was in my online account, I came across the text usage. We have a family plan now, so both of our lines are on my account together. I came across our text message totals.

In one week, over 5,700 text messages!! Like OMG!!! And WTH?? And oh thank GOD for unlimited text messaging!

The Bachelor

The Bachelor .....new season, not a new guy.

If you watched the show before, say 3 years ago, you would remember that Brad Womack was The Bachelor once before. He did the whole show right down to the very end and then left these two with a broken heart....the both of them!

Jenni

Deanna

Everyone just knew he would choose Deanna, and needless to say, she was the most broken-hearted of the two but then she went on to be the Bachelorette....gosh, what drama!


Anyhow, Brad is back as the Bachelor and after all the 'what a jerk' comments I've said and heard, I really felt for the guy in his return run on the show.


Now, everyone knows, if anyone is a man skeptic, that would be me. However, for some reason I think he's really changed and I hope that this time around everything works out for him. He really seems sincere. Not to mention the fact that if he breaks any more hearts, he may as well flee the country for life, but then again, he may not be safe in any part of the world.





Usually the first show of the season of The Bachelor is really hard for me to swallow. Meaning, I can not stand watching him stand there and meet all of the chicks who desperately try and impress him by their corny and cheesey first greetings. This time it was interesting.





Although there were a few who stood out to me, and very obviously to Brad, I am a little hesitant to say who I believe will be receiving a ring, or should I say rose? in the final episodes.

I will say that a couple of girls did impress me so far:

Emily

She's a mom, she's sweet and very sincere and I could tell he was very attracted to and impressed by her.

Ashley S.

She's a southern girl and very nice also. And she grabbed his ass, I mean, what man would not like that??!! She got the first impression rose. I think she'd have had him even before she touched his butt!

So who knows? I mean, this could go any which way....or the other. One thing I do know, I will be watching up until the final rose. Will you?

Out With The Old...

Well, as usual I am a couple of days late and several dollars short, but I would not be me otherwise.

Happy New Year to you and yours and I hope that everyone out there has a super fantabulous year...and that you are all healthy, wealthy and wise!

2010 ended on a very sour note for me and my girls. I took a trip to the ER on the weekend before Christmas. I am assuming it was a panic attack because no doctor out there can figure out what is wrong with me. Sad, but true. I am fine now but will seeking some sort of answer for that soon.

The Monday following Christmas, my girls and I went shopping in the mall a good 45 minutes from our home. My 13 year old, Chelsea, passed out while we were there. Let me tell you, in all of my 40 years, in all that I have seen and done and experienced, there was not one thing ever that scared me as much as seeing my baby lying on the floor.

I was totally helpless. Scared beyond belief and all I could do was beg someone to help me. Thankfully, a woman who was in the medical profession stopped to assist and I swear she was an angel sent from above. She calmed me down, she stayed with Chelsea and held her head until the paramedics arrived and assured me that my daughter would be ok. And she is.

From what the doctors (the ER and her own personal) can gather, it was because she had not eaten breakfast (which I can never stress enough to her, is very important) and she had her very first monthly visitor arrive days before. That, combined with her lack of food, made her dizzy and black out.

So for now, we are still a little leery about our health issues, but I have resolved that we will all be healthier and will be eating better and living better all around.

Another thing I would love to be able to do is to make more time for blogging. It seems as though my reading and occasional commenting has never let up, just my posting has been very sporadic. Hopefully that will change this year.

I would also like to take more pictures this year. I do find that I take plenty of pictures, but not nearly what I would love to be doing.

Again, I would like to wish each and everyone a great new year. May 2011 be all that you intend for it to be and more!

XOXO